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Five Kenyan banks have launched a pilot lending service via mobile phone for the benefit of the country’s small and medium-sized business, the central bank announced on Monday.
KCB Bank Kenya, Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (CBA), Cooperative Bank of Kenya, Diamond Trust Bank and NIC...

South Africa’s central bank has revealed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country more than doubled in 2018, boosting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hopes of attracting US$100 billion of investment over five years.
FDI inflows rose to a five-year high of R70.7 billion ($4.88 billion) in...

South Africa’s economy grew by 0.8% last year according to latest figures from Statistics South Africa, which also revealed GDP growth of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to 2.6% in Q3.
The latest figures from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) portray an economy that...

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has revealed that the country aims to clear US$2 billion in arrears with the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) in the next 12 months.
Ncube said in an interview with Reuters that its arrears clearance programme has secured the...

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) mining index has risen above increasing costs and policy uncertainty in South Africa’s resources sector to outperform the all share index for the first time in a decade.
Global accountancy firm PwC’s ‘SA Mine 2018’ report found that in the 12...

Nairobi has been named East Africa’s wealthiest city and the sixth richest in Africa, according to a new study by New World Wealth and AfrAsia Bank from Mauritius.
The report estimated that there is approximately KES5.4 trillion of privately held wealth in Kenya’s capital, with growth...

South Africa has slipped into a recession for the first time since 2009 after economic growth unexpectedly slowed during the second quarter of 2018.
In its most recent quarterly report, Statistics South Africa revealed that GDP fell by 0.7% from April to June, compared with expectations...

Egypt’s planning minister Hala al-Saeed has revealed that the country is aiming to attract US$11 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the current 2018/19 fiscal year.
The North African nation attracted $7.9 billion during the previous year, but hopes to create around 750,000 jobs by...

Steinhoff International will separately list its African retail businesses on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The South African retail group will look to consolidate its African assets, which include clothing retailer Pepkor and furniture chain JD Group, prior to listing on the JSE.
Steinhoff will continue to hold...